Issue details

The Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund was first introduced in May 2020. The purpose of this fund is to support adult social care providers, including those with whom the local authority does not have a contract, to reduce the rate of COVID-19 transmission within and between care settings, in particular by helping to reduce the need for staff movements between sites.

The Government announced on 1^st October that the Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund has been extended until March 2021, with an extra £546 million of national funding. This is a new grant, with revised conditions from the original Infection Control Fund.

Local authorities will receive the grant in two instalments, October and December 2020. It is a requirement of the grant conditions that 80% of the first instalment must be paid out to care providers within 20 working days of receiving the grant.

Rotherham has been allocated a total of £2,733,864 in the second round of funding, 80% of which is to be allocated to care homes and community care providers on a per bed and per service user basis respectively within a prescribed national grant allocation formula.

Payment of 80% of the Infection Control Fund will be made subject to the grant conditions and completion of a monthly return to the Council indicating monthly spend and, for care homes, is contingent on completion of the NHS Capacity Tracker weekly and for community care providers (domiciliary care and supported living) contingent on completion of the CQC Covid-19 Survey weekly until 31^st March 2021

In order to receive the second instalment, local authorities must have written to the department by 31 October 2020, confirming that they have put in place a winter plan, and that they are working with care providers in their area on business continuity plans.

The payment of the second instalment of the grant is also contingent on local authorities having fully transferred the 80% ‘per bed’/’per user’ allocation of the first instalment to providers.

Local authorities must use 20% of the funding to support the sector to put in place other COVID-19 infection control measures, but this can be allocated at their discretion. The specific use of the remaining 20% funding will be determined by the Council’s Cabinet in accordance with the specified grant conditions.